Mengold

ON ST. MENGOLD, MARTYR, AT HUY IN BELGIUM

Around the year 892.

Preliminary Commentary.

Mengoldus, Martyr, at Huy in Belgium (St.)

By the author I. B.

Section I. The public veneration of St. Mengold; his secular dignity; the title of his martyrdom.

[1] Huy, or Hoium, is ^a celebrated and prosperous city of Belgium, situated between the episcopal cities of Namur and Liege, at the confluence of the rivers Meuse and Hoy, as was more fully explained on 13 January in connection with the Life of Blessed Iverta. Here the relics of St. Mengold, Martyr, are preserved with public veneration. He is called by others Maingoldus, Meingoldus, Maingaudus, Manigaudus, and Manigandus. His annual feast is celebrated in all the churches of the city on 8 February with ^a double rite, the devotion of the ecclesiastical office being extended for an octave. Under this date the manuscript Florarium has: "Also at Huy in the territory of Liege, the birthday of St. Mengold, glorious Martyr and Count, in the year of salvation 909." Molanus in the first edition of Usuardus: "Also at Huy, the birthday of Blessed Mengold, glorious Martyr." More briefly, Hermannus Greuen: "Mengold, Soldier." On the same day he is recorded by Canisius, Ferrarius, Willotius, and Gelenius in

[7] What the same writer says does not agree with the history of the Life: namely, that after ^a seven-year pilgrimage he returned to Huy and established his manner of life there; and what Saussay says — that, renouncing military service and withdrawing out of love for penance to the oratory of Saints Timothy and Symphorian on the Meuse, this did not happen at Huy, in ^a solitary place, he performed there the acts of ^a most holy life, until, while going to the temple, he was innocently slain by men of blood. Yet Molanus preceded both of them, writing from the Office of the Clergy of Huy as follows: "For ^a full seven years he did penance for his homicides and other sins. Afterward he withdrew to the oratory of the holy Martyrs Timothy and Symphorian, which is situated at the confluence of the Hoyoux and the Meuse... And in that same place, when, despite the peace repeatedly sought, the ancient wrath was not yet extinguished, while he was going to the temple, he was slain by the kinsmen of Ingelfredus." Miraeus in the Belgian Fasti differs from both these writers and the history of the Life: "He rests at Huy," he says, "in the collegiate church of Canons, having been killed in that place by the impious." But where he either now rests or appears to have been killed, we shall inquire below.

Section 2: Whether the Acts of Saint Mengold Should Be Entirely Rejected?

[8] The Acts of Saint Mengold which we give here were transcribed from ^a codex of the monastery of Corsendonk of Canons Regular near Turnhout, ^a town of Brabant. Whence the Acts and miracles published here? A compendium existed in the Utrecht manuscript of the Church of Saint Martin, written in ^a more ancient hand than the Corsendonk codex; and from that manuscript we shall draw certain miracles of Saint Mengold. These Acts were composed, unless our conjecture deceives us, between the year of Christ 1066 and 1073. For the author mentions in the Prologue the fourth Translation, when were they composed? made in the year 1066 under Bishop Theoduin, as we shall say below; but not the fifth or sixth, which occurred under Radulph shortly after the year 1073. He confesses in the Prologue that he followed what is gathered from common report and what is collected from circulating rumor. from rumor, But rumor, with ^a third century now passing, customarily retains some truths from time to time, but — like old paintings with their colors already faded — it tends both to accumulate certain false or uncertain elements through the very mold and decay of time, and to bespatter them with the zeal of innovating and embellishing. Perhaps, however, he drew not from rumor alone but from certain written records what (as he says in the same place) "antiquity left to posterity through succession." There are indeed some things in them that have the flavor of antiquity; not from rumor alone: such as the expression in number 11, "to offer hascaria" (military service); also the names, they have the flavor of antiquity: both of men in common use at that period — Albericus, Baldwin, Ingelfredus, William, Richard — and of places: Greveriage, Spinetum, the oratory of Saints Timothy and Symphorian.

[9] The cited Liege historian thought differently about these Acts. For he writes thus in his Flores: "Concerning Mengold, various writers have handed down various things — either splendid beyond measure, plainly rejected by ^a certain writer, or unexpected in outcome to the point of wonder, or manifestly foreign to the truth." And in his Notes on the history: "It is amazing," he says, "that any credence was found for what is circulated about Saint Mengold." And in the history itself: "I did not think the reader should be detained by vain narrations." Even more severely, in ^a letter to ^a friend dated in the year 1636 (which was communicated to me by the friend), he pronounced on these Acts: "He asks what I think of the Life of Saint Mengold written in that great codex of the temple of the Blessed Virgin at Huy. I judge them to be mere fables from beginning to end, just like all the relics I have seen — and I have seen, besides that one, three or four others."

[10] Thus he rejects the Acts of Saint Mengold, and yet at the same time follows them, writing this in his History under the year 909: "The following year brought another new distinction to the Church of Liege — the noble palm of martyrdom won by Mengold. He, as Count of Huy, having administered the principality for some years while entangled in serious wars, yet approving their compendium: at last abhorring the bloody dissensions and mutual slaughters — which do not easily leave anyone's soul free from all guilt — undertook to expiate his past transgressions. Dissembling his princely rank, therefore, in plebeian garb, he visited various sacred places throughout the Christian world, meanwhile chastising his body with harsh afflictions and refreshing his soul with meditations on heavenly things. After he had exercised himself in these things for ^a full seven years, he returned to Huy and established there ^a life venerable for all the duties of ^a Christian prince." And shortly after: "Mengold lived indeed in the time of the Emperor Arnulf, who died in the year 900."

[11] But whence did he draw those things? "From many things," he says, "scarcely meriting belief, I have given the reader ^a few selected items, in which, as most others generally agree, so they seemed more like the truth." Who are those "others"? Molanus and Miraeus, most learned men, likewise agree on the genealogy expressed in the Acts, not disapproved by other learned men: which he repudiates. He cites John Warnant, who lived 300 years ago, and John of Outremeuse, who lived 250 years ago; and Zantfliet, whom Chapeaville also subsequently cites in his Notes on the history of Liege. But why does he not adduce their words? Perhaps because they also report the very things that he so grandly rejects, being later than the writer of these Acts. But how could some things from those Acts seem to him like the truth, if they were mere fables from beginning to end? He would have employed his labor more usefully if he had investigated what an interpolator had attached to the old narrative. Nor do I think this would have been difficult for him, if, as one writing the history of ^a most extensive diocese, all the archives of cities and churches lay open to him — they should rather be examined by one writing ^a history, just as we most liberally opened our repositories to him, stipulating only that he should not publish the Lives of the Saints and thus plunder what had been collected with great labor and expense by us and by Heribert Rosweyde. Which he nevertheless did afterward, with good faith, as he wished it to appear, because when he made that promise he was not thinking of publishing Lives, and afterward he directed his mind to that by the counsel of friends; and he devoutly kept to this: that he did not cite our writings, nor even the Acts already published by us, but the very sources from which we had drawn, although he had seen most of them nowhere except in our possession.

[12] But let us return to the Acts of Saint Mengold, so severely criticized by him. They certainly deserved to be examined with whatever labor, as they would excellently illuminate the antiquity of the whole province. And perhaps there will someday be someone more skilled who will examine them more carefully and separate the precious from the worthless, the genuine from the spurious (if there be any such). which could have been done, Nor would we ourselves be reluctant to devote some effort to this matter, if from it the age of many Saints or the credibility of their acts depended, or if otherwise light could generally be shed in this way on many histories which we must constantly use — as we have not unfruitfully labored on January 1 in elucidating the age and dominion of King Saint Sigebert, and elsewhere in the Acts of others. But now, what did that writer do other than what one does who, distrusting his ability to untie ^a knot, cuts it? But to what shall I compare his deed? Rather, he seems to have done as if someone were to pluck the fruits hanging in the open from the lower branches, or to gather those stored in others' storerooms; and to blame the rest — whether placed on high or fortified by ^a thorny hedge — as wild and sour. Why does he so confidently report that Mengold lived in the time of the Emperor Arnulf, if no credence is to be given to those Acts? Why did he not rather confess that everything is uncertain, even that very thing? Indeed, that it is not even established whether Mengold lived in Belgium at all, or whether his remains were brought here from elsewhere, in the age of Arnulf or the Ottos? For he who without reason freely denies what he reads nowhere else, and yet nothing to the contrary either, will be able to reject anything.

[13] These Acts, therefore, are of such ^a kind that they deserve at least to be examined, since they are much more probable and they deserve it than what John Placentius wrote about the Bishops of Tongeren and Maastricht, and what others wrote about other matters.

Section 3: The Time of the Killing of Saint Mengold Investigated by Conjecture.

[14] Laurence Melart, in book 1 of his History of Huy, writes that Mengold was martyred in the year 860, or, as some would have it, he says, 909. Afterward, however, not sufficiently mindful of what he had said, Concerning the time of his killing, certain writers are uncertain, he writes that, chiefly on the advice of Otto II, he married Geyla, the widow of William who died in the year 960; and that he sired ^a son Lietardus, or Luchardinus, from her; and that after the year 970 he was killed by Indelfridus and three other assassins. Without asking what the counsel of Otto, ^a boy of seven or eight years, could have availed toward persuading that marriage, what manner of reckoning is this? William dies in the year 960. Mengold takes up the county with Geyla, and after ^a few years entrusts the governance to Richard, his sister's son, and the guardianship of his son Lietard, and departs on pilgrimage. Richard, having murdered the boy through the utmost wickedness, seizes the county, but he himself also perishes in battle in the year 966. His son Hugh succeeds him and writings that contradict themselves: and rules for 4 years, then Guido for 7, Simon for 9, Aufridus for 4. Which sum would reach to the year 990. Yet the same Melart confesses that in the year 985 Aufridus abdicated the county. Perhaps even somewhat earlier: for the diploma cited above, by which the same county, relinquished by Aufridus, was granted to the Church of Liege, was given "on the Nones of June, in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 985, Indiction 13, in the second year of the reign of Otto III," as can be read in Chapeaville and Miraeus. Nor is it surprising that this writer stumbles so in fixing the calculation of years, since he observes no chronological markers.

[15] The previously cited writer of the history of Liege reports him killed in the year 909. On what authority did he learn this — ^a contemporary one, I ask, or one of firm credibility? Let this, however, be granted to ^a learned man, others say it happened in 909, that he may conjecture about an obscure matter — which we ourselves also sometimes presume to do; but not so as to set it down as if it were ^a certain and sacred opinion. The author of the Florarium had previously written the same, as was said in number 1.

[16] Sigebert of Gembloux (or whoever it was who sewed the additions onto his Chronicle) has the following under the year 908: "In this year there suffered at Huy ^a Count, Duke, and Martyr, others say 908, Blessed Mengold, nephew of the Emperor Arnulf through his sister." These words were absent from the ancient Lobbes manuscript which we used, and from the editions of Laurence Barre and Pistorius. Nor did he suffer at Huy, as was previously indicated.

[17] If any credence is to be given to the Acts, Mengold appears to have been killed ^a not inconsiderable space of time before the year 900. For it is said in chapter 4, number 24, it seems to have happened earlier; that "as the number of those serving God at his sepulcher grew, so also grew the revenues from the faithful of Christ, continuing until the attack of the Normans, who in the time of Bishop Franco, bursting in with an innumerable army of foreign nations, destroyed and burned that place and the churches, buildings, and palaces of the entire diocese of Liege." Now Franco died in the year 903, on the 5th day before the Ides of January. There were many incursions of the Normans into the diocese of Liege in his time.

[18] What if this is the same Megingaudus the Count who was killed in the church of Rutila in the year 892? Concerning him Regino writes thus: perhaps on August 28, 892 "In the same year, in the month of August, on the 5th day before the Kalends of September, Megingaudus the Count, nephew of King Otto, was treacherously killed by Albericus and his companions, in the monastery of Saint Sixtus, which is called Rotila." For thus the manuscript codex read, with which Rosweyde collated the Wechel edition of Regino from the Pistorius library; and the Annals of Metz published by Chesne agree. The earlier edition of Regino had Megingaudus killed in the month of September, in the monastery called Sotila. Now Rutila, or as it is here called Rotila, at Rutila: is ^a monastery near the bank of the Moselle, close to the town of Cirk, as Brower reports in book 9 of the Annals of Trier, formerly of the Benedictine profession, now of the Carthusian. Added in the Pistorius edition: "Whose body, carried to Trier, was buried at Saint Maximin" — which Brower also transferred to his own Annals of Trier.

[19] The first to conjecture that this Maingaudus was our Mengold was our most learned Aegidius Bucherius, in his Chronology of the Bishops of Liege under the year 892, writing thus: so it seemed to certain learned men, "Megingaudus the Count is killed by Albericus. Reg. Could he be Maingoldus of Huy?" We were persuaded to embrace this conjecture (or certainly not to reject it) by the most learned man and our dearest friend, Jean-Jacques Chifflet, Knight and Royal Chief Physician — for he showed that Maingandus is the name given by Alberic, the monk of Trois-Fontaines (whose words we shall report below), and that the genealogy, which seemed paradoxical to us, could be confirmed by reasoning. But concerning this, see the following section.

[20] Meanwhile another doubt arises for the writer: whether this is not perhaps the Megingaudus, Count or Duke, about whom Brower writes in book 9 of the Annals of Trier: "King Arnulf, with profane liberality, lavished the resources of Saint Maximin on Duke Megingaudus." But that it may be clearly established [Was this Megingaudus the one endowed with the abbey of Saint Maximin in 888 by King Arnulf?] how happily this gift turned out for the Duke, it will not be tiresome to weave into this history, from Sigehard — an old and approved monk of this century — what happened to him: "Megingaudus, therefore, enriched with this so rich ^a possession by King Arnulf, overflowing with joy, so far lost all self-restraint that, returning home and calling his wife aside, he congratulated both her and himself at length, and at the same time, in ^a petulant jest poured out against the Saints, asked her whether she knew with how great ^a gift the Emperor had adorned him not many days before. When she denied it, he said: 'He has given me ^a most wealthy servant; and if you care to know who he is, it is Maximin himself with his abbey. exulting irreverently in this gift This man, if you wish, I can also present to you on the spot and bring before you.'" The woman, turning away from this impious speech, began to rebuke her husband with ^a scolding and to cry out that she was unworthy of that benefice. But this petulance of the tongue did not long afterward go unpunished; for God, vindicating the honor of His blessed heavenly servants, punished by contraction so afflicted and prostrated the Duke with ^a monstrous disease that immediately, with his limbs twisted and drawn together as if into ^a ball, he no longer bore the appearance of ^a human being in figure, face, or countenance. And then at last, struck by the sharp pain of his present affliction and forced to descend into himself, he began to supplicate the help of the Saint whose name had formerly been so cheap to him; and, carried to his altar at Trier, he now confessed himself the servant of him — and in need of every assistance — whose master he had formerly professed himself to be. And this surely so deep an abasement of himself, cured by the Saint's help though late, and this reflection on human weakness — necessary at such ^a time — procured salvation for the man, especially as he was sustained by the fervent supplication of the monks to God. He therefore, grateful for the memory of his recovered health, not only strove greatly with King Arnulf to restore to the monks their ancient right of patronage, then ^a friend to the monks? but also brought it about that the king enlarged their resources with the royal estate of Ribiniaco. And there survive as witnesses of this matter ancient documents, composed in the first year of Arnulf's reign, at the request of the same Count or Duke Megingoz." Now the first year of Arnulf's reign was the year of Christ 888, after the death of his uncle Charles the Fat.

[21] But if we determine that Mengold was killed in the year 892, Anachronisms in the Acts. it will be necessary to confess that an anachronism was committed in the Acts, since they repeatedly mention Arnulf as Emperor, who was only King, not created Emperor until the year 896; and that Mengold did not spend ^a full seven years on penance and pilgrimage, but perhaps one or two years, or perhaps only seven or eight months.

[22] But how could ^a son of his sister, Richard, have been fit for military service before that year? Why not indeed? Louis the German, son of Louis the Pious, was born around the year 806. Was his nephew fit for war in the year 892? He may have sired Carloman in the year 826; Carloman in turn from ^a concubine may have sired the mother of Mengold, Richard's grandmother, around the year 862 or the following, married to Hugh perhaps around 854, whose daughter may have been given in the year 866 to the King of Northumbria, and shortly after may have borne Richard, so that he would have been 23 years old, or even older, when his uncle Mengold was killed. What if Mengold and Adeles were not born of the same mother, but the latter was the elder, from Hugh's first wife? But concerning these matters, see the following section. Here we wished only to show that chronology does not stand in the way of the supposition that Mengold may have been killed in that year. Although we propose this more by way of conjecture than by firm assertion.

[23] That he is said to have been killed at Greveriage cannot be objected to unless by one who has clearly demonstrated that the place was not near Rutila. Why is he venerated on February 8 if he was killed on August 28? But why is he venerated on February 8, if he fell on the 5th day before the Kalends of September? Perhaps on that day his body was brought to Huy, five months after the killing — having been deposited for the time being in the church of Saint Maximin, rather than at Rutila, because he had previously been well-deserving of the abbey of Saint Maximin, as we said — until the noblemen dwelling round about, who had formerly lived fruitfully under his rule, should come together to transfer and bury him.

Section 4: The Genealogy of Saint Mengold Weighed and Illuminated by Conjectures.

[24] The lineage of Saint Mengold must now be investigated. He is said to have been born of Hugh, King of England, and the sister of the Emperor Arnulf; to have been brother-in-law of the King of Northumbria; and (if he is the Maingaudus who was killed at Rutila) nephew of King Odo. His genealogy is perplexing. These things are perplexing and at first glance not sufficiently credible. But if you weigh each individually, you will find nothing that you can certainly condemn as false, unless the author has woven in something of his own for embellishment, or has somewhere disturbed the chronology with ^a parachronism. Let us examine each point.

[25] "There was no King of England named Hugh." Do you say so? Then produce an accurate catalogue of all who ever held royal honor in all the provinces of the Angles. I have certainly never yet seen one. We gave on February 7 ^a King Richard recorded in no catalogue. His father Hugh, King of the English, We produced in his Life and that of Saint Ine several who both subscribed themselves as Kings in public acts and were adorned with the same title by others, yet are absent from the catalogues. Even at the very time of Arnulf and his father Carloman, although things were gradually inclining toward ^a kind of monarchy, there were still several Kings in the various provinces, as can be seen in the English writers — although these from time to time confess that they do not know how widely some reigned or for how long. Could not one among these have been ^a certain Hugh? You will contend that he must have been King of all England, not one of the crowd of petty kings who married ^a daughter of King Carloman. But an illegitimate one, for Carloman had no legitimate offspring. Yet I take nothing away from the kingdom or power of that Hugh. It is possible that, just as Ethelwulf married Judith, the daughter of Charles the Bald, although unknown under that name among English writers: so some lord of ^a very ample kingdom, called Hugh, may have married ^a granddaughter of Louis the German; who, because perhaps (just as, not long before, Mollo Ethelwold, King of Northumbria, and Eadbriht Praen, King of Kent) he had ^a double name, was less celebrated by that name among English writers — although the name was already in common use among that people at that time. I hear that the Irish call those who in their native dialect are called Aidi, Ethi, Aidani by the name of Hugh — just as the Spanish call Jameses "Didacos." Who, then, can deny that there could have been some King Hugh of the English, either unknown to other writers or known by another name, in so great ^a multitude of kingdoms and kings?

[26] His mother's name is not given. It is only reported that she was ^a sister of Arnulf; therefore she was ^a daughter of Carloman, his mother was ^a sister of the Emperor Arnulf, ^a granddaughter of Louis the German, who, as the son of Louis the Pious, was ^a grandson of Charlemagne. And so Mengold must be placed in the Carolingian line. Another sister of Arnulf was given in marriage to Zwentibold of Moravia.

[27] The author of the history of Liege objects in his Notes: "If he was ^a nephew of Arnulf and at the same time the son of ^a King of England, who would believe that his uncle the Emperor gave him as wife the widow of the Count of Huy, ^a woman entangled in many wars? Who, if he was so great, dared to make war on him? And what, in the end, was that opposing party which dared to sustain war against so great ^a Prince? I consider it all fiction." But what opposing party, indeed, stripped Zwentibold, Arnulf's son, of his kingdom? Duke Reginar, or the Count of Hainaut, and others from the Meuse region, combining their arms. Did not ^a similar faction undermine Charles the Simple, King of France? Rarely do those plotting revolution lack the assistance of rivals, even against the power of the greatest prince. But against Mengold only tumultuous wars were stirred up. England gave him no aid, since it could scarcely protect itself against the Danish pirates; and perhaps neither his father nor his brother-in-law was any longer alive. Arnulf supported him only to the extent that he did not wish to irritate the subject princes, by whose favor he was preparing to hand over the Lotharingian kingdom to his illegitimate son Zwentibold.

[28] Otherwise, Arnulf seems to have given Mengold no small or trifling gifts, if already at the very beginning of his reign His resources were not small: he had handed over to him all the revenues and estates of the monastery of Saint Maximin. Nor is the dowry of Geyla, which Mengold had to vindicate by arms, to be reckoned as having been so slight; nor were the possessions of his stepson, which were entrusted to him to administer and protect, narrow. The same writer his wife previously married to ^a Count of Hainaut: says that William, Geyla's first husband, was Count of Huy; Miraeus and Molanus say of Hainaut. But Reginar held Hainaut. All of it? Had he no uncles or kinsmen? But they were not Counts, you say. That needed to be proved. Could there have been no Counts from another house? Were there not at the same time in Hainaut in the age of Dagobert the Counts Walbert, Vincent Madelgarius, and others? In the time of Saint Mengold there lived Sigohardus, Count of Hainaut, who is not mentioned in the Reginar family tree. Concerning him, King Louis, son of Arnulf, in ^a diploma given at Aachen in the year 908, Indiction 11 — which is found in Chapeaville in his notes on chapter 40 of the history of Canon Anselm — speaks thus: "The abbey of Lobbes... situated in the district and county of Hainaut, of which at present Sigohardus appears to be the Count, together with the royal estate called Tectis, granted by our brother King Zwentibold, situated in the district and county of Liege; of which also Sigohardus is likewise known to be the Count at present." Mention is also made there of other counties in the same district. Also of Hainaut, and not reckoned in the Reginar family, is he of whom Balderic writes in the Chronicle of Cambrai, book 1, chapter 73: "There was also another Count from the district of Hainaut, named Amulricus, ^a man of the noblest birth and most fortunate according to the display of worldly glory." He lived in the year 947, perhaps ^a son or grandson of Sigohardus. From these the following person may also seem to have descended, of whom Ordericus Vitalis writes in book 7, where he treats of Henry I, King of France, son of Robert, around the year 1032: "By the counsel of Amalricus the Elder of Montfort, son of William of Hainaut," etc.

[29] Finally, the resources and power of Mengold (if he is the same Megingaudus killed at Rutila) is declared by what Regino and the Annals of Metz report under the same year 892: his dignities given to the son of Arnulf: "Arnulf bestows on his son Zwentibold the honors of Count Megingaudus, in part." Why on Zwentibold? Surely because he was Mengold's cousin? Nor were those possessions and dignities, with which Arnulf is said to have adorned the son he was destining for ^a kingdom, insignificant.

[30] But that Count Megingaudus is said to have been ^a nephew of King Odo. By what reasoning can this be affirmed of Mengold? Namely, if we conjecture with the most sagacious Chifflet that Theodrada, the wife of Odo, was the sister of Hugh. his aunt married to Odo, King of France, The Sainte-Marthe brothers confess that not even her name is found among contemporary writers, much less her homeland or lineage. There is preserved in the monastery of Saint Vedast at Arras ^a charter of King Odo, given — as the same Chifflet has informed us — on the 12th day before the Kalends of June, Indiction 8, in the third year of the reign of King Odo, which was the year of Christ 890; in that charter the name of Theodrada is expressed — whom Odo may have married in order to strengthen his position by alliances, and perhaps to attach Arnulf himself to his cause, since he would have as wife the sister of Arnulf's brother-in-law. Nor is it unfavorable to this conjecture that Odo wished the son born from Theodrada to be named Arnulf, as is related on January 17 in the Miracles of Saint Genulph the Bishop, chapter 6, number 20. And indeed Odo was aided by Arnulf's favor to become King of France. a friend of Arnulf: Thus Regino, who was then living, writes under the year 888: "Meanwhile the peoples of Gaul, gathered together, with the consent of Arnulf, by equal counsel and will create Otto the Duke, son of Rupert, ^a vigorous man... as King over themselves." Afterward Odo cultivated the friendship of Arnulf. The same Regino under the year 895: "At the same assembly (of Worms, at which, with all assenting and acclaiming, Zwentibold was placed over the kingdom of Lotharingia), King Otto came with great gifts to Arnulf, by whom he was honorably received." One thing may nevertheless be asked here: why he is called the nephew of Odo rather than of Arnulf? Perhaps because the author had just previously been speaking of Odo and of his other nephew Wandelgarius, the son of his uncle Adalhelm.

[30] One thing remains in which some think the greatest weight lies for derogating credibility from this history: namely, that Adhelem, Mengold's sister, is said in chapter 1, number 3, to have been given in marriage by her father's consent to Oswald, King of the Northumbrians, his sister married to the King of Northumbria; who, at the urging of his bride, devoting himself entirely to Christianity, fell as ^a Martyr in battle waged against the pagans for the worship of the faith and the defense of his country. For, as Fisen rightly observes, Saint Oswald was killed in the year 642, not to Saint Oswald, so that no one in his right mind can think that he married ^a wife after the year 850.

[31] I have sometimes reflected whether perhaps the author of these Acts, having read in more ancient documents that Saint Mengold was called ^a kinsman of Saint Oswald, to whom he was akin in the honor of martyrdom, — because both were innocently slaughtered by the impious, glorified by God with miracles, and regarded as Martyrs — interpreted that word literally and made Oswald his brother-in-law. Jean-Jacques Chifflet then suggested to me that in the manuscript Chronicle of Alberic, the monk of Trois-Fontaines, the following is read under the year 899: perhaps descended from him; "From ^a sister of this Arnulf is written to have been born Saint Maingaudus, Martyr of Huy, whose father was Hugh, King of the English, tracing his origin from the holy and ancient King Oswald of the Northumbrians." Saint Oswald did indeed have ^a son Ethelwald, as Bede writes in book 3 of the History of the English Nation, chapter 24. But whether he propagated ^a line, and in what parts of England, I have not yet read.

[32] Whether Hugh was descended from Saint Oswald or from some other lineage, his son-in-law, the brother-in-law of Mengold, is said to have been the King of Northumbria, but perhaps Osbriht, killed by the pagans in battle, who in the year 854 was Osbriht, or Osbrihtus, or Osbricus, or Osbertus — who in the year 867, fighting most bravely against the pagan Danes, fell in battle. So that I should think the unskilled writer, reading that Osbriht, King of the Northumbrians, fell for his country against the pagans, supposed that Oswald should be read instead — whose memory was famous and to whom the other details corresponded. as once Saint Oswald.

[33] But whither do so many and so various conjectures of ours tend? To show that the genealogy of Saint Mengold contains nothing that could not have happened. There will perhaps be someone more skilled in ancient histories, and of more sagacious talent, who will unearth more certain things and confirm them with the legitimate testimonies of writers, for the honor of the holy Martyr and the greater glory of God.

Section 5: The Various Translations of Saint Mengold.

[34] One thing only now remains: that we briefly review several translations of the relics of Saint Mengold. [The relics of Saint Mengold were frequently translated: 1st, from the place of his killing to the oratory where they were buried:] The first was from the place of martyrdom to the town of Huy. For, as is said in the Prologue of the Acts, he was killed in the place called Greveriage and buried in the settlement called Huy from the river Hoyoux. "For taking up," as is found in chapter 4, number 23, "the body of the man of God, they carried it to the predestined place and placed it in the oratory," etc. That oratory was, as is said in number 21, "in honor of Timothy and Symphorian, next to the palace which was on the plain between two hills, where the Hoyoux flows into the Meuse." They say that now neither that oratory survives nor the palace; yet some think that its half-buried ruins may be seen at the river Hoyoux, where ^a small bridge is placed over it, called the Pont du Palais (Bridge of the Palace) in the common tongue. Where was it situated? And that place lies between two hills, on one of which is to be seen the monastery of the Crosier Fathers — the first of the whole Order and the seat of the General — and on the other ^a citadel, the chief ornament as well as fortification of the city of Huy.

[35] Some think that the oratory of Saints Timothy and Symphorian stood where the temple now dedicated to Saint Mengold is. But this is not between two hills; rather, it is almost in the very center of the city. Whether the body of Saint Mengold was first translated from its earlier tomb to this place has not been sufficiently explored by us. Melart indeed writes that he was buried in the middle of the temple; but what he says about the body being exhumed by the authority of Bishop Radulph is false, as will soon be evident. perhaps rebuilt elsewhere: The body was, however, carried away from the oratory or chapel of Saints Timothy and Symphorian before this was destroyed, as can be seen from Miracle 1 below. But we are uncertain whether perhaps the oratory itself was transferred — or rather, when it had been demolished either by age, or by the incursion of enemies, or by some other accident, whether ^a new one was built elsewhere, much larger and more magnificent, and dedicated to the same holy Martyrs, since it is called the basilica of the holy Martyrs Timothy and Symphorian. And in this one also the body of Saint Mengold, removed from its earlier tomb, may have been buried — so that it then began to be celebrated by his name, as miracles multiplied.

[36] 2nd, to the church of Our Lady. However these matters may have stood, long before the year 1066 that sacred pledge was translated to the principal basilica of Saint Mary. "For in their shrines, from the great church of Blessed Mary where they then rested, Saints Domitian and Mengold were carried 3rd, to another church: to the church of Blessed name omitted, because the faithful of the place wished, on account of its extreme age, to tear it down and rebuild it." The earlier translation from the church of Saints Symphorian and Timothy to the church of Blessed Mary seems to be indicated in the Acts, chapter 4, number 24, in these words: "When tranquility had returned by divine favor, the church of Blessed Mary was in some manner repaired, and thither the Martyr Mengold was brought," etc. — unless these words should be understood of the fourth Translation. Melart says that the old church of Blessed Mary was afterward shattered and weakened in the year 1012 by ^a terrible storm, with the priests who were then chanting vespers being crushed; that it began to be restored by Baldric, who presided over the Church of Liege from the year 1007 to 1017; and was finally completed by Theoduin in the year 1066. No mention of either the destruction inflicted by the storm or of the work begun by Baldric is made by Theoduin in his diploma, 4th, in 1066, to the church of Our Lady, given in the year of the Lord 1066, Indiction 4, in the 18th year of his pontificate and in the 11th year of the reign of Henry. For it reads thus: "I wish it to be known to those present and future how, after the liberty of the Church of Huy which the Lord Maternus of blessed memory, as Bishop, inaugurated by consecrating it, I also added the liberty of the town. rebuilt by the Bishop and citizens; For I rebuilt the aforesaid church from the foundations to the roof timbers, from the roof timbers and beyond," which also—

in gold and silver and gems and estates, I enriched it according to my measure, and made it from Hagar into Sarah. The aforementioned town, indeed, in exchange for its liberty, first gave me ^a third of all its movable goods for the necessary expenses of the church; and that it might enjoy its liberty more fully, it afterward gave half. The dedication of that new church fell on the 8th day before the Kalends of September, as Giles of Orval has it in chapter 1, and the Great Belgian Chronicle, and our Fisen.

[37] At that time, therefore, as the same Giles writes, Theodwin of Liege and Lietbert of Cambrai, with the entire multitude of Clergy and people, piously and devoutly translated the body of Blessed Domitian, Confessor and Bishop, into the same church. The body of Saint Mengold was also brought to the same church; and either through their glory or through the piety of the Bishop and the people, it was confirmed by heavenly prodigies. For while — as the prologue of the Acts relates — they were being carried thither after the work was completed, miracles then performed: ^a vast crowd of people having gathered, under ^a clear sky two stars appeared, with the rays of their brilliance seeming to accompany each bier, and they showed to men on earth, for their faith and as an example, what manner and how great ^a glory they possessed in the heavens. And these things indeed were recorded by ^a writer of that time, as we have shown above.

[38] A hundred years later, the same sacred bodies were again translated — or rather, deposited in magnificent individual shrines — and reverently carried through the streets of the city. Although it appears that the body of Saint Mengold had before that translation been carried back once more to the church dedicated in his own name (built perhaps perhaps to the church of Saint Mengold: in the interval between Bishops Theodwin and Radulph) — or placed there at that time, so that it might be conveyed with more splendid pomp to the greater basilica. Giles of Orval treats of the translation of Saint Domitian in chapter 51. To which chapter, Chapeauville from John the Priest adds this: with that of Saint Domitian in the year 1173, and his own shortly after, "In the year of the Lord 1173, on the 17th day before the Kalends of July, at the request of the Canons of Huy, the body of Blessed Domitian, Bishop and Confessor, was honorably translated by the Lord Radulph, Bishop of Liege, in the presence of very many religious persons, and fittingly placed in ^a gilded silver casket. Then, by the merits of the Saint, many miracles were performed there." Giles relates more concerning the procession instituted through the city. The same John continues concerning Mengold: "The translation of the body of Blessed Mengold, Martyr and Count of Huy, some years having elapsed from that time, was performed on the same day; the bodies enclosed in silver caskets, and his body, placed by the same Bishop in ^a silver casket, was translated from the church of Saint Mengold to the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the greatest honor."

[39] Concerning the same translation, Fisen writes in book 10 of the History of Liege, number 28: made by an outstanding craftsman. "Some write that Blessed Mengold was honored with the same ceremony simultaneously. Others prefer to defer it by ^a few years, although they too assign the same day and Bishop Radulph. Melart writes that the bodies were taken from their sepulchers and placed in individual shrines made of silver by the exquisite craftsmanship of the outstanding artist Godfrey the Illustrious, surnamed the Noble." But they had already been placed in other biers in the time of Theodwin: does he think they were then buried in sepulchers again? Nor were they translated on July 17, as he writes, but on the 17th day before the Kalends of July, that is, June 15. In assigning the year as well he varies: for in book 1 he says it happened in 1137, in book 2 in 1174. Saint Domitian was translated in 1173, Saint Mengold either at the same time or rather some years afterward.

[40] The Translation of Saint Mengold has been recorded by Molanus in his Additions to Usuard in the second edition, under June 15, in these words: Anniversary commemoration of the Translation: "At Huy, the Translation of Saint Domitian, Bishop and Confessor. On the same day, of Blessed Mengold, Duke and Martyr." However, the same Molanus notes in the Feast Days of the Saints of Belgium: "The Translation coincides with the Translation of Saint Domitian on the fifteenth of June, but on account of the coincidence it is commemorated on the following day." Nevertheless, I have received that the Translation of Saint Mengold is observed on June 14. Two manuscript codices, however, have the Translation of Saint Domitian the Bishop as having been performed in the year 1172, on the 6th day before the Ides of June; and one of them reports that the silver casket in which the sacred body was placed had been fabricated for it long before. The other denies that this Translation is the one celebrated with anniversary rites, but rather another much more ancient one.

[41] The shrines then made are the same ones that are carried around with their enclosed heavenly treasure in solemn processions on Quasimodo Sunday, on the day of Saint Domitian (which is May 7), on the feast of Corpus Christi, and on the day of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The relics are carried around several times each year. The bier of Saint Domitian is borne by the more honored members of the guild of butchers; that of Saint Mengold by the millers and bakers. I believe (since it was by the wool trade and similar crafts, as Melart attests, that Huy grew to the size now seen) that the money for fabricating those caskets was contributed chiefly by those guilds, or that they earned that honor by some other benefaction.

[42] We shall add also this from Melart (if it is worth noting, being ^a not very ancient invention, The image of Saint Mengold. conformed to his genealogy): the effigy of Saint Mengold is so depicted in his church that the figure of the Duke bears three leopards (which is now the device of the Kings of England) woven into his military garment, ^a shield in one hand marked with an eagle, and in the other ^a banner sprinkled with French lilies.

ACTS BY AN ANONYMOUS AUTHOR

from ^a manuscript of the Canons Regular of Corssendonk.

Mengold, Martyr, at Huy in Belgium (Saint)

BHL Number: 5879

By an anonymous author, from manuscripts.

PROLOGUE OF THE AUTHOR.

[1] If those things which are known by common report are arranged and set down, it is useful for those who, with pious intention, seek the life and deeds of the Saints for their own instruction. For it was said long before our time, and is also found in the Sacred Scriptures, indeed verified in the Evangelical truth: "The true law of history is to commit plainly to writing, for the instruction of piety, what is gathered by spreading fame." Wherefore we have considered it ^a brotherly and salutary thing to write concerning the man of God Mengold what antiquity has left to posterity through succession. Saint Mengold, patron of the people of Huy He, having set out on ^a pilgrimage to perform penance for his offenses, was killed in his return by wicked men at ^a place called Greveria, and was buried in the village which, from the river, is called Huy. with Saint Domitian the Bishop. The merit of his life and his efficacious martyrdom were declared by frequent miracles from heaven. To him was given from on high as helper and cooperator the Confessor of Christ, Domitian, Bishop of Liege — who, like two candlesticks shining before God, protect the inhabitants of the place by their merits, defend them by their prayers, and intercede for their sins. This was manifestly shown to all who beheld it in ^a single event: for they were borne on their biers from the greater church of the Blessed Mary, where they then rested, to the church of the Blessed... because the faithful of the place, on account of its extreme age, wished to demolish and rebuild it. But when, the work being completed, they were being carried back, ^a vast crowd of people having gathered, under ^a clear sky two stars appeared, formerly translated not without miracles. with the rays of their brilliance seeming to accompany each bier, and they showed to men on earth, for their faith and as an example, what manner and how great ^a glory they possessed in the heavens. But let us now come to the fulfillment of our stated intention.

CHAPTER 1

The Genealogy of Saint Mengold. His Marriage.

[2] The illustrious Martyr of Christ, Mengold, drew his origin from the noble lineage of the Franks and the English. He added to his nobility an even more distinguished title: from ^a sister of King Arnulph worthy fruits of penance unto everlasting life. His mother was ^a sister of King Arnulph, who, blessed as Emperor by Pope Formosus, married to King Hugo wisely ordered the state of the kingdom and Empire and vigorously governed it. When Hugo, King of the English, learned of his excellence through reliable report, he bound himself to him in friendship through honorable ambassadors and wise intermediaries, with oaths sworn and confirmed; and, as is the custom among such exalted persons, they visited each other, honoring one another with gifts sought out mutually and often. Since King Arnulph had no children, he betrothed his only sister to the King of the English, Hugo, so that if offspring should be divinely given from this union, the face of both kingdoms might rejoice in greater confidence and more ample peace.

[3] Having therefore splendidly received his wife, King Hugo begot ^a son, Mengold is born, who was called Mengold at his baptism. He also begot ^a daughter, who was named Adheles. Her, with her father's consent, Oswald, King of the Northumbrians, took as his wife; who, at the instigation of his bride, devoting himself entirely to Christianity, for the worship of the faith and for the defense of his country, entering into battle against the Gentiles, with Adheles, married to the King of Northumbria: fell as ^a Martyr. And, as history testifies, at his sepulcher the divine power manifested itself through frequent and numerous miracles. There was added, moreover, as an increase to their good training, that Hugo delivered both children at the appropriate time to liberal and ecclesiastical instruction, so that, taught by skillful masters, they might know what was to be pursued and what, in their respective stations, was to be passed over, as the occasion of the time should require. Whence Adheles, joined to King Oswald, was for him an instrument of salvation and virtue, he is excellently educated: and Mengold was ^a comfort to his father in the advancement of the affairs of the kingdom.

[4] The clear proof of this matter brought joy to the Emperor Arnulf concerning his kinsmen; and thereupon, giving abundant thanks to the divine mercy, he admonished both offspring by frequent embassies not to desist from their undertaking of valor. Since, as was said above, the Emperor had no children, he wished for ^a time to take delight in, and to be comforted by, the presence and conversation of his nephew Mengold, as is the custom among nobles to ascertain and test the valor of their heirs. He therefore sent messengers to King Hugo, furnished with ^a prudent embassy and adorned with honorable manners, so that in both parties the devotion of the one sending and the one receiving might be commended. Hugo agreed and sent his son Mengold, he is summoned to the court of Arnulf together with Richard, born of Oswald and his daughter Adheles, to the Emperor Arnulf with incredible pageantry. Both were ignorant, however, of what divine providence would do about this, because the father thought his son would return at ^a suitable time, and the uncle had planned to send him back. But the Angel of the most secret counsel of the Most High had foreordained to enrich the diocese of Liege with so great ^a treasure, so that the penitence of Mengold might provide an example and hope of pardon, and the place might be protected by his pious intercession.

[5] The Emperor was therefore refreshed with full joy at the arrival of his nephew along with his nobles; and whether in matters of middling or of the greatest importance, the young man, having been well taught, responded prudently, brought things effectively to ^a conclusion, where he conducts himself bravely and in ^a Christian manner behaved reverently in divine and ecclesiastical matters in his time, and exercising the military calling, restrained himself through divine grace from those things in which many men of that rank are accustomed to become entangled. In giving alms, with the left hand not knowing, he showed himself ^a second Martin beneath the cloak; in ascertaining military industry, shaking off the stigma of infamy and the swelling of vainglory, he represented Sebastian together with Maurice. For the words of John the Baptist to the soldiers — "Be content with your wages; do violence to no one; accuse no one falsely" — having been taught by his masters, he turned over in his innermost heart, and therefore from good beginnings he came at last to happier ends. Luke 3:14

[6] There were, moreover, in the palace of the Emperor certain Nobles who, in giving counsel according to time and circumstance, held the royal road, By the counsel of the Nobles and judged it profitable that bravery should be nobly rewarded in military affairs. Gradually, therefore, discussion began among them that Mengold should be enriched with benefices and exalted with honors in the kingdom of Arnulf. Their opinion was carried into effect in the following manner. There was ^a Duke Albric, who had betrothed his sister Geyla to Count William, with specified estates and the other properties that belonged to her by paternal right. He marries Geyla, the widow of William Duke Albric was of ^a fierce spirit, but his sister impressed herself with the character of probity. The Duke, changing his mind, withdrew the estates and many other things, and denied certain properties which had been confirmed at the betrothal in the presence and testimony of free men. The Count, however, with humble address and modest petition, through honest mediators, frequently met him at the assemblies and courts of the Palatines. The Duke, though unwilling, understanding that the laws of right and the knowledge of free men supported the Count's case, branded himself with the mark of treachery, disgracing his own great name. For he appointed ^a day and place for the Count with peaceful words, so that the matter might be brought to ^a conclusion by the judgment and counsel of the chief men on both sides; but sending sworn satellites to slay the Count, he basely and perniciously forestalled the peace conference. treacherously slain by Albric For the Count, coming to the appointed place and day, was slain by ^a band sent forth. His wife Geyla had already borne him ^a boy of eight years, named Liethard.

[7] Therefore, talk arose in the Emperor's palace about the God-fearing and noble widow, and the elders of faithful counsel advised the King that Geyla should be betrothed to Mengold. he marries her The Emperor, hearing this, gave and returned thanks to his faithful men, and together with their decision he lawfully added many things to his nephew Mengold, with the Emperor approving and augmenting the dowry as an increase to what she possessed by right of law from her first husband. As the canon law provides concerning widows, the wedding of Geyla and Mengold was celebrated after the passage of ^a year following the death of Count William. And this union brought to both ^a fruitful palm for the salvation of their souls; but it plunged Liethard and Albric through the swelling of pride, the sin of ambition and envy, into the place of Judas, as the end showed.

CHAPTER 2

The Dower Estates Defended by Saint Mengold. The Adversaries Slain.

[8] Mengold, therefore, relying on the right of law, subjects to his own authority the patrimony of his wife from Count William and Duke Albric, Mengold defends the goods of his wife, laid waste by her brother and the dowry augmented by the Emperor's gift, under solemn oath. But the richer and more ample estates, on account of the contention between Duke Albric and Count William, had been partly neglected through fear and partly destroyed through invasion. Mengold therefore began to labor mercifully for the restoration of these, he reclaims them so that he might gather the inhabitants back for their own sustenance, and living without complaint from just labors, might render alms acceptable to God. All things are therefore repaired, and takes care that they are securely cultivated and with the peace of the farmers the fullness of revenues increases; and the people, resting quietly in their dwellings, give thanks to almighty God and beseech Him with pious works for the safety of Mengold. Meanwhile, however, Mengold, prudently freeing himself from every charge, nourishes, educates, promotes, and instructs his stepson Liethard as if he were his own father in all things, he educates his stepson in ^a fatherly manner and after he had reached the age of majority, from the goods belonging to him from both his father's and his mother's side, by the counsel and judgment of upright men, he makes peace with him.

[9] Hence it happened that the impious mind and fury of Duke Albric flared up again; whom neither his God-fearing sister, nor his only nephew, nor the rights of law could deflect to the path of righteousness. And in order to graft upon his forces greater and stronger arms, Albric together with Duke Baldwin he joins to himself Duke Baldwin — who is called by the corrupted name Beuvinus — so that with military force they might rise up against Mengold and his goods to the point of annihilation. The octave of the Lord's Nativity arrived, on which ^a fixed revenue was to be paid in ^a certain excellent estate of Mengold. Forestalling this, Albric came there with Duke Baldwin, and on that same holy day received the revenues, burned the estate, and carried off the farmers as prisoners with their spoils. Mengold, however, unaware of this and suspecting no misfortune, was going securely to his estate; who again plunder his goods when behold, on their return, he heard the cries of the prisoners, the bellowing of animals, and the voices of those dividing the spoils. After he had perceived the evidence of what had happened, with justice favoring him and the violation of the solemn day impeding them, he pursues them and kills Baldwin he attacked them with ^a strong force, and having killed Duke Baldwin with many others, put Albric to flight, capturing many. Rescuing his people from their hands, he as victor restored to that same estate what had been taken. From this ^a grave disturbance arose in the land, because Duke Baldwin left four surviving sons, and Albric by gifts and promises caused his nephew Liethard to depart from Mengold.

[10] The Emperor Arnulf therefore held counsel with the upright and God-fearing Nobles of the realm concerning so grave an event, and through honorable mediators, with humble petition and the offering of many goods, he approached Albric and the four sons of Duke Baldwin. As humbly and as devoutly as he could, yielding his imperial prerogative, he labored to restore the peace, lest, if in such ^a matter he exceeded moderation through his power, the love of his nephew might be said to be ^a harm to the Empire. He offers satisfaction to the sons Albric, together with the four sons of Duke Baldwin and with his nephew Liethard — whom he had snatched from Mengold, though the latter had honorably educated him — together with Judge Ingelfrid, heaped upon Mengold threats, assaults, ambushes, and invasions of his estates. But Mengold, together with his nephew Richard and his valiant soldiers, did not send forth his forces; and fortifying his defenses, he endured and dissembled, and concerning the slaying of the Nobles he humbly offered through the Counts Palatine what the rights of law required and even more. King Arnulf, therefore, after repeatedly showing humility and with the consent of the Nobles, had recourse to an imperial sentence, and summoning Mengold and his adversaries to his seat at Metz, he held ^a general assembly. The matter of reconciliation for the slaying was treated according to the law of the fatherland, and while they pretend to acquiesce for the Emperor's sake and in this business, above and beyond what law and right required, satisfaction was offered on behalf of Mengold to his adversaries; but they, persisting with hardened minds, did not accept the terms of peace. At length, by the Emperor's admonition, with the Palatines coming together in one sentence, Albric and his accomplices approved ^a day and place for the King in this case, so that within it there might be security on both sides.

[11] From the court of the Emperor, therefore, Mengold and Albric depart to their own lands by one road, but walking with ^a different intention; for with full heart Mengold labors for reconciliation with his enemies, while Albric and his party thirst in their spirit for the death of Mengold. The still-humble Mengold, moreover, repeats words of petition, and like ^a strong lion confident in ^a pure conscience, offers himself to Albric and the sons of Duke Baldwin for judgment or concord at his house. Thereupon Ingelfrid, speaking aside with Albric, counsels him merely to agree to ^a judgment on ^a set day and place, because, being skilled in the law, he was able to trap and convict Mengold through the interception of his response. On the appointed day, therefore, Albric came to his house, and with him the sons of Duke Baldwin on ^a day and place fraudulently arranged and Judge Ingelfrid; and Mengold came with his nephew Richard. Leaving their horses and squires in the open space of the courtyard, they entered the palace with their swords, where ^a multitude of noble lords was seated in ^a circle. Some rose. Mengold is present with his kinsman For Mengold and his nephew Richard, out of the love and honor of the Emperor among the freeborn and valorous, many wished good outcomes for Mengold in their hearts, and many confirmed one another by nods and mutual words that he might escape. Duke Albric put forward the death of Duke Baldwin against Mengold. Mengold, wisely showing how it had happened, fell at the feet of the sons sitting there and offered ^a "hascaria" — ^a monetary compensation — to their satisfaction. But Judge Ingelfrid, one of those who, sitting in the gate, do not judge justly for the stranger, the orphan, the foreigner, and the widow, devoted himself entirely to hostile vengeance and decreed that for this he should undergo ^a capital sentence. struck with ^a capital sentence

[12] But Mengold, gathering the strength of his spirit from his noble nature, rejected the judgment of Ingelfrid by offering ^a duel, and struck with ^a cudgel and Ingelfrid, presuming on the authority of law, already carrying his soul in his hands, struck him on the head with ^a cudgel, with the premeditated plan that the sons of Duke Baldwin and others would rush upon him in ^a single assault. He fights his way out, with the unjust judge slain by his kinsman But since the minds of all were not one, many interposed themselves to calm the situation; when behold, Richard, Mengold's nephew, rushing forward powerfully, struck off the head of Ingelfrid with his sword. In such ^a crisis, therefore, with everyone running about and occupied with such an affair, Mengold and Richard snatched themselves from the hall and, mounting their horses bravely, made their way back to ^a safe place by ^a prosperous return. His noble and God-fearing wife Geyla he escapes to his wife, who was praying for him had counseled Mengold by dissuading him from going to the house of her brother Albric; for knowing his ferocity and treachery, she had frequently impressed upon him that, if the opportunity arose, he would kill him just as he had killed her first husband. Wherefore, during that journey she besought the divine mercy by pious works for his safe return, and, being mercifully heard, received him snatched from death.

CHAPTER 3

Saint Mengold Besieged and Freed. The Enemies Divinely Punished.

[13] Duke Albric, therefore, exceedingly disturbed at the death of Judge Ingelfrid, Saint Mengold is besieged in the fortress of Spineto his perverter and supporter, gathers his wrath, assembles his forces, and binds many to himself along with the sons of Baldwin by gifts and benefices. But neglecting, while fury dominated him, the fidelity owed to the Emperor, making light of regard for his sister's son, and having no bowels of piety even toward his own sister, he besieges Spineto, ^a fortress most strongly fortified by nature and stored with provisions, where Mengold with his wife Geyla and nephew Richard, and with valiant soldiers, had prepared to make his defense. A long struggle arises in ^a long siege, and often many are within in bodily presence who by the devotion of their spirits are outside in their desired vows. Revolving this from experience, Duke Albric, with military cunning, draws away many from within to his side, in order to diminish Mengold's forces and compel him to surrender.

[14] His stepson, adhering to the enemies, kicks his mother The noble Geyla, therefore, wholly fragrant with the odors of piety, sends word to Liethard that he should speak with her as ^a son to his mother, hoping through him to soften the spirit of her brother Albric toward Mengold. The mother goes out on foot; her son comes to meet her on horseback; and while with tears and sighs, as is right from maternal affection, she entreats her son, he shows indignation, turns away his eyes, neither dismounts from his horse nor gives his mother ^a fitting reply. At length the mother, from the abundance of her grief, multiplies her words, beseeching and adjuring her son, when behold, Satan put it into the heart of Liethard to strike his mother. Sitting therefore upon his horse, he kicked his mother, standing before him, in the breast with his foot and threw her backward onto the ground. But even his enemies took this ill and truly told Liethard that such ^a deed could not turn out well for him. Mengold and Richard, standing at the walls and watching, groaned over this spectacle and, awaiting the return of the noble Geyla, called down divine vengeance for such an act. Geyla, thus struck, returned inside as best she could, and despairing of the mercy of her brother and her son, betook herself to divine assistance through prayers and pious works.

[15] Divine power therefore strengthening the spirit of Richard, he took up his arms in the military fashion, mounted his horse, and going forth confidently challenged Liethard to ^a duel. who has it cut off in ^a duel The latter, unaware of the vengeance of the just Judge upon himself, engaged in the fight with ^a truce observed on both sides; and Richard, transfixing him with ^a single stroke, cast him alive to the ground, cut off with his sword the foot with which he had struck his mother, and carrying him, pierced with the iron of ^a spear, openly displayed, returned to the castle without any injury. For the terror of the Most High, seizing the spirits of the whole army of Albric, had weakened them, so that under the divine vengeance Richard suffered no harm. and publicly hung up, as an example of divine vengeance The foot of Liethard, with which he had struck his mother, was hung at the entrance of the prominent gate in the sight of all, so that proud presumption and vainglory might be confounded and mothers might be reverenced by their sons in all things according to God's commandment. Nicanor, coming to Jerusalem with ^a powerful army, stretched out his right hand toward the temple of the Lord, swearing that he would destroy it to the foundations together with the city if they did not submit to the dominion of King Antiochus. When Judas, engaging him in battle, had conquered him through divine assistance, he cut off the right hand which he had proudly extended toward the temple of the Lord, together with the shoulder, hanging it before the gate of the temple. 2 Maccabees 15:30 And He Himself, who had formerly said through Moses, "Honor your father and your mother, that you may be long-lived upon the earth" Exodus 20:12, hanging on the cross, said to His disciple for the reverence of mothers, concerning His own carnal mother: "Behold your mother" John 19:27; and from that hour the disciple took her into his own care.

[16] The Emperor Arnulf had already frequently received messengers from his nephew, but now, perceiving by ^a more explicit embassy that the matter was desperate, Mengold is freed from the siege by the Emperor he gathered the imperial army and marched thither. Sending messengers ahead, he admonished Duke Albric by solemn oath to withdraw from the siege. Albric and his men refused, since the stubbornness of fury, holding the chief seat in his heart, was already preparing death for Mengold with its own hands. The Emperor, the enemies are slain having help from the Most High, attacked the army, and slew the sons of Duke Baldwin and the chief counselors of Albric, without loss to his own forces. The Emperor then ordered Albric to be captured, still testing whether, if he came to his senses, some good peace might be effected toward Mengold. He was therefore captured and delivered to the custody of his sister Geyla, Albric is captured so that on the following day reconciliation might be discussed. Divine vengeance, however, working its own judgment, unknown men by night, with the sister completely unaware and the others ignorant, hung an immense stone from his neck and plunged Albric into ^a large and deep fish pond below the foot of the castle. by night drowned in ^a fish pond When morning came, the Emperor commanded that Albric be brought; and Geyla, coming to the place of custody and not finding him, stood dumbfounded, overturned every room, searched hidden places, and adjured everyone; but she could obtain no certain information about what had happened to Albric. This was reported to the Emperor; and greatly disturbed by this, nor can it be known by whom he commanded all to leave the castle and come before him. Mengold offered on behalf of himself and his wife ^a voluntary purgation concerning Albric; and as the army dictated and judged, he performed it without peril to his soul in the eyes of God. The Emperor examined some by lots, others by oaths; to these he threatened loss of life, to those mutilation of limbs; but nothing true was found among them concerning Albric. For the magnification, therefore, of the tremendous power of divine vengeance, the end of Albric was revealed in the following manner.